Blue Lock's Team Z Turncoat Takes the Crown
June 2 marks "Betrayal Day" in Japan — a nod to the Honnoji Incident of 1582, when Akechi Mitsuhide turned on his lord Oda Nobunaga. To mark the occasion, Anime Anime ran a reader poll asking fans which anime character best represents the word "traitor." The results, drawn from 238 respondents between May 18 and 24, crowned a new king of backstabbers.
Wataru Kuon from Blue Lock took the top spot with roughly 7 percent of the vote, climbing from second place in last year's poll. Readers pointed to his betrayal during the Team W match as the defining shock — a guy who'd been the calm, dependable heart of Team Z suddenly switching sides. One voter summed it up: they were furious at the betrayal, but moved when Kuon later risked a red card to help his former teammates win. That arc from traitor to reluctant hero clearly resonated.
Kanjuro Dethroned, Reiner Holds Steady
ONE PIECE's Kurozumi Kanjuro dropped from first to second with about 6 percent support. The Wano Country samurai spent years embedded among the Akazaya Nine as a spy for the Kurozumi clan, and fans still haven't gotten over it. Multiple respondents described feeling personally betrayed — after hundreds of episodes trusting Kanjuro as an ally, learning the truth hit like a gut punch. The long fuse made the explosion bigger.
Reiner Braun from Attack on Titan locked in at third for the second straight year, pulling about 5 percent. His mid-series confession that he was the Armored Titan remains one of anime's most iconic betrayal scenes. But readers also noted how the Marley arc reframed him as a soldier caught between two worlds rather than a straightforward villain. That moral complexity is exactly why he keeps showing up on this list.
BLEACH and Bungo Stray Dogs Round Out the Top Five
BLEACH claimed both fourth and fifth place. Gin Ichimaru — the ever-smiling captain whose loyalties stayed ambiguous until the very end — landed at No. 4. Sosuke Aizen, the soft-spoken captain who orchestrated Soul Society's greatest deception, tied for fifth with Bungo Stray Dogs' Osamu Dazai.
The rest of the top ten featured a mix of genres and eras. My Hero Academia's Yuga Aoyama (7th) brought a more sympathetic brand of betrayal — a student forced into espionage. Dr. STONE's Gen Asagiri and Crayon Shin-chan's Buriburizaemon shared eighth place, the latter being the comic-relief pick who'll abandon any ally for personal gain. Gundam SEED's Athrun Zala and Final Fantasy IV's Kain Highwind tied for tenth, proving that side-switching resonates across mediums.
The Reader Comments That Stood Out
Beyond the rankings, several write-in picks drew sharp commentary. Jujutsu Kaisen's Suguru Geto got a pointed nod — once Satoru Gojo's best friend and partner at Jujutsu High, his descent into becoming "the worst curse user" marked a turning point for the entire series. Cells at Work!'s Cancer Cell earned a mention for a clever meta-betrayal: voice actor Akira Ishida initially appeared as an ordinary cell before the character's true nature was revealed, blindsiding viewers on two levels.
One Devilman fan took the long view, noting that Akira Fudo represents a whole generation of heroes — Devilman, Kamen Rider, Cyborg 009 — who betrayed evil organizations to fight for humanity. It's a reminder that betrayal cuts both ways in anime storytelling.
Looking Ahead
Anime Anime runs these themed character polls regularly, with recent editions covering "witch" characters, "orange-themed" characters, and "master tacticians." The 2025 edition of this same poll is available for comparison. The survey skews young — about 40 percent of respondents were 19 or under — which likely explains Blue Lock's rise as the franchise continues its anime run. With Blue Lock's second season still fresh and a third anticipated, Kuon's grip on the top spot may only tighten next year.